As The World Falls Down
by Midwinter's-Night-Dream-86
Summary: "Would you dance with me?" The white haired elleth looked between his outstretched hand and the look of hopeful anticipation on his face with half lidded eyes before at last placing her small hand in his. -One Shot-


**_Recomended Playlist:_**

 _Moons of Evenstar - The Elder Scrolls Online OST_

 _Once In A Red Moon... - Secret Garden_

 _As The World Falls Down (Piano Instrumental) (by David Bowie) - Ebonnie, "Patchwork Fantasia"_

 _Feast of Starlight (Extended Edition) - The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug OST_

 ** _As The World Falls Down_**

Stars glittered in the velvet curtain of the sky, merrily raining their lights over the plains and forests, valleys and mountains of the earth. In most places, children dreamt and their parents slumbered, giving no thought to the servants of darkness that lurked in the shadowed parts of the world. In still other places, some remained up into the night, drinking, dancing, and sharing discourse with one another in taverns and inns where light and merriment acted almost as a barrier against fear and shadow.

In the halls of the Elvenking in the north of the ancient Greenwood, the Elves dined together with their king, for it was the time in which they celebrated the coming of autumn with mereth-nuin-giliath, a feast under stars. During all the long ages of the world, ever since the Elves had first awoken in the time before the sun and moon, they had revered what light there was. Those who had gone on to dwell in Valinor had lived in the light of the the Two Trees and their return to Middle-earth was followed quickly by the lights of the sun and moon, and they remembered fondly the trees of the west. But there were those Elves who had remained in the eastern lands, though some had ventured as far as the western shores, where there had been no light of silver and gold from Yavanna's trees, and they held the light of the stars above all others.

Their love had been carried through the ages and over vast lands. A remnant of the Sindar of Doriath, at the end of the First Age, had journeyed into the east of Middle-earth, joining first with the Nandor of the woods of what would be called Lórien and then with the Silvan dwelling in Eryn Galen as a great kingdom of Elves under first Oropher and afterward his son, Thranduil, where they delighted in the stars together with many feasts and dances under the green leaves.

The feast under stars lasted all through the night, from the moment the sun set in the west and first stars twinkled into sight, until the sun returned once more, overwhelming the sky with its rays and shrouding the stars with the veil of day.

The Elvenking walked amongst his people, sharing their joy and delight at this first cool night of autumn and the swift absence of the heat of summer. Elves, it is true, are not as effected by the high or low temperatures brought on by the different seasons as the younger races were, and they found the crisp autumn twilights as pleasant as any midsummer's night. Thranduil found that he preferred them too, though not for their contrast of scenery with summer and spring. The warm air and humidity of the summer reminded him of the closeness of bodies, living and dead, and the smoke filled battles in the war against the dark lord, Sauron. His father had been killed in the war and he preferred not to dwell upon the things that brought those memories to the forefront of his mind.

The great majority of his people were together for the festivities, and even those who were not there celebrated in their own way. While many chose to be with others at the feasts on the first night of autumn, some preferred solitude in quiet glades or beneath trees where the wind in the boughs and the occasional night bird were the only sounds. The King admitted silently in his heart that he, too, would have relished the silence away from the clamour of the people. For all that they cultivated a reputation of ancient and solemn wisdom before the other races, amongst each other in the privacy of their kingdoms the elves danced and frolicked as any small child was wont to do.

Elf Maids in a cluster laughed and danced in a circle of spinning silver skirts and twirling hair, surrounded by a wider ring of Elves singing and joining in their laughter. In smaller groups the Elves and Elf Maidens danced in pairs of two, three, or four, not caring who their partners were, with deft and cheerful steps. Some lingered around the banquet tables which had been lain out earlier in the evening for the feast, but were now removed to the outskirts of the great clearing and held light and dainty foods and wines to be eaten late into the night at leisure.

Thranduil observed all this, though he did not join in their dances. They did not call for his company, for it was his way of late to watch them like a proud father instead of joining them as he did before. He watched them with his own soft smile long into the evening, a glass of wine poised in his hand, until at the second watch of the night he felt an unfamiliar gaze upon him.

The King turned to find the eyes of an elleth lingering on his person, though when she realized that her stare had been returned, she quickly looked away and turned toward the banquet tables. Thranduil tilted his head to the side; he did not recall ever seeing that particular Elf Maid before, and he knew all of the Sindar dwelling in his realm, for with her cascading white locks and eyes of crystal blue he was almost sure of her lineage. He watched her hover before the table, until, picking up a glass of wine, she ventured off toward the trees. His gaze lingered on her a moment longer, then he turned away to see one of his advisors attempting to commandeer one of the wine barrels situated at the far end of the clearing, and he hurried to advert the pending crisis.

It was not quite an hour later when he found the same maiden watching him intently once more. This time he made as if to go to her side and speak to her, but as soon as she saw his intent, she fled again into the shadows of the trees.

Thranduil was duly puzzled at the elleth's odd behavior. He was used to being watched, of course, for as a prince and later as a king the eyes of the people were almost always on him, but in all his long years Thranduil had never encountered an Elf, stranger though they may be, who had run away from him so bashfully without even a word!

He was ready the next time she came out into the outskirts of the clearing to observe the dancers. He saw her gaze flicker back and forth and her brow crease in confusion when she didn't find her query. Ah! He thought, She's watching for me! With that, Thranduil came down from the tree limb where he had been perched, startling the lady when he landed almost silently in front of her.

She let out a squeal of shock, which was lost over the noise made by the other Elves, though Thranduil found himself to be in the prime position to receive it in full. This was quickly followed by a blush of embarrassment on her part at making such a display in front of the Elvenking.

"I apologize, my lady Calithil, for I did not mean to startle you so," he apologized amiably. Moonlight he called her, for her hair shone as brilliant and white as the moon itself did in its zenith. She seemed to realize this, abate slowly, and the scarlet color on her cheeks darkened.

"King Thranduil," she murmured and bowed her head low in respect.

Thranduil nodded to her, finding her sudden aversion to meeting his eyes strange after her intent watch on him before. He intended to speak with her, however, and would despite the longing glances Calithil sent toward the throng of dancing Elves, which was likely the only place where she felt she could escape his attention.

"I do not recall ever meeting you before now, Lady Calithil," said the Elvenking with a friendly smile. He only suspected her Sindarin lineage, but he decided to voice it in the hope of learning more about her. "I have made the effort to know all of my kin who dwell in my kingdom, and it saddens me to know that I have looked over one such as you."

"Then you should stay your sorrow, my lord," Calithil told him softly, facing him, "For I am not of your kingdom. I and my brother hail from Farlindon in the west."

"Ah," Thranduil replied, "Then you were of Gil-galad's people there!"

Calithil nodded in affirmation. "We dwelled for a time under Círdan in Mithlond, my lord, and until the last spring we resided in Imladris under the Lord Elrond. My brother has a adventurous heart and enjoys traveling extensively. I could not leave him to his wandering alone, and so it was that we came together into your realm."

Thranduil watched her attentively as she spoke and how she grew more animated with every word she said. The blue of her eyes twinkled as she spoke of her brother, and he knew that she held her kin close to her heart.

"You have not been here long, to have come during the spring," he stated, looking deep in thought. "I wonder that I did not see you and your brother at the summer feasts."

Calithil blushed again. "My brother was there, my lord, for he has always loved song and merriment, though I realize now that you might not recognize him as my brother. His hair is as dark as a raven's wing and he holds little resemblance to myself or to our father's kin."

Thranduil recalled seeing a raven haired Noldo dancing amongst the throng of silver and gold and red haired Elves, though he had not had the thought to speak with him. He found that he understood Calithil now that he knew more of her, and standing as he was before her at the edge of the circle of trees as the other Elves danced and sang with each other under the starlight, he felt a stirring within his heart to dance with her.

He extended his arm gracefully toward her. "Would you dance with me, Lady Calithil?" He asked with his hand poised between them in anticipation.

The white haired elleth looked between his outstretched hand and the look of hopeful anticipation on his face with half lidded eyes before at last placing her small hand in his. Thranduil gently pulled Calithil out of the shadow of the trees and into the midst of the dancers. Her hair swirled in a shimmering curtain as she turned her head this way and that in an attempt to take in the other Elves and the lights around her. Thranduil's heart warmed at the sight.

"What is this melody called?" She asked, arousing him from his musing, "I have never heard it."

He looked around before realizing that the musicians at the end of the clearing had finished their song of birds and streams and springtime that the Elves all insisted upon even in the dead of winter and had moved on to a slow, delicate melody that was always meant to be danced to by pairs of two.

"It is an old song, though it has endured many variations since my father's minstrel brought the piece out of Doriath." He was obviously pleased by her curiosity, which Calithil seemed to realize and she smiled again. "Why did you not come to the festivals with your brother, my lady?" He inquired, changing the line of talk and continuing their conversation from before.

Though her gaze was still on the ever growing ring of laughing dancers, Calithill's next words were directed at him. "I enjoy the companionship these feasts bring, but my heart leads me to silent wandering and musing during the nights of summer."

The Elvenking nodded softly at her answer. "I find the same pull in my heart, though it leads me to the hills blanketed with snow just beyond the northern eaves of the forest during the long nights of winter, when the stars glisten cold and clear around the full disk of the moon and the distant peaks of the Ered Mithren loom as shadows beyond."

Calithil smiled at him, and it was such a lovely, innocent smile that Thranduil couldn't help but return it. "You paint such a breathtaking picture!"

"Such pictures abound in the north," he told her fondly while turning her about in a circle.

"Then I shall delight in discovering them," Calithil replied with a wistful sigh, before adding, "My Lord."

The pair danced in companionable silence with only the sweet song from the musicians drifting between them for a long while and did not seperate until the sky began to lighten to a velvet shade of violet in its progression toward dawn. Upon realizing this, Calithil released her hold on the Elvenking and ceased their dance. "I am sorry to have kept you so late, King Thranduil," she apologized.

"If your presence was not welcome, I would have dismissed you," he told her rather hastily. The stirring in his heart that had compelled him to ask her to dance and the warm sensation that had spread in his chest when she had taken his hand and smiled at him returned together at the sound of his name upon her lips, sending his heart pounding like a drum of war against the inside of his chest.

The maiden looked at him in curiosity, despite of the faint rosy blush that tinged her cheeks and the tips of her leaf like ears. She remained quiet as she watched him, and Thranduil felt compelled to speak again.

"Would you care to dance with me again when the next of the mereth-nuin-giliath comes, Lady Calithil?" The words tumbled ungracefully out of his mouth and it was Thranduil's turn to color a shade of red that appeared less flattering on him than on the lady.

To his utter surprise, the white haired She-Elf giggled. It didn't strike him as bells ringing or a brook dashing over stones, but as the soft call of a night bird, singing to silence of the world.

"If you so wish and as it is in my power," Calithil replied with a smile before curtseying to him. Thranduil bowed slightly to her and watched as she then spun around and vanished back into the trees.

The Elvenking and the Moon Maiden shared many a dance together during the autumn and spring feasts for a great many years. During the summer when she was wandering the quiet woods, he would keep a watch on the night birds, who in turn had kept a watch upon her. In the winter when the king was beyond the forest, the maiden would linger amongst her fellows during the feasts and dances and hum the tune to that first dance, but despite all urging on the part of her brother and the other Elves, she would continue her dancing with none but the Elvenking.

It was in the tenth year that he danced with her that Thranduil asked Calithil for her hand in marriage and it followed in the eleventh year that they were joined. They danced slowly to the music from their first dance, both feeling as if the world was falling away from them to leave them as the only things remaining.

Calithil looked to her husband with a joyful smile on her face as they danced together, and Thranduil couldn't help but sing to his bride. "I'll paint you mornings of gold, I'll spin you valentine evenings..."

She leaned forward and placed her lips almost against the shell of his ear. "We are strangers no longer," Calithil told him lowly while a playful smile came to life on her face.

Thranduil turned her so that he had her ear against his lips. "I'll place my love between the stars."

"Oh Thranduil," she yelped in admonishment and squirmed against him.

He kissed her, then, and the world truly fell away around them, leaving the Elvenking and his queen to dance alone beneath the stars.

 ** _Author's Note -_** _Earlier in the year I had the flu (in my area we weren't having a terribly large flu season, so it was just my luck) and in my delirium I listened to the Labyrinth soundtrack over and over again, and while I did that my head went through several different characters who could dance to this song before, at last, settling on Thranduil. I didn't write anything until last week, though, and I didn't mean for the language to sound so...refined? Archaic? Tolkien-esque? Pfft, and then there was the evolution/development of his dancing partner. Back way before the Hobbit came out and my writing was teenage fangirl madness, I gave Thranduil a wife, Hithsilme, and two more children, Hannonwen and Jéshua. Of course, I've aged since then and it became "Gilrin of Lindon she was in her youth, and ever after Calithil Elvenqueen," "Rhovanien, who tred the paths of healer and warrior," and "Edraithon of the autumn wood and the winter storm."_

 _This is also my first time since then to write anything for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit beyond a humorous parody crossover with Skyrim, so I'm curious to know how I did, overall._

 _And here is the_ _ **Disclaimer**_ _at the end of all things - The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and most elements in the story belong to Tolkien Estate and New Line Cinema; the songs belong to their respective original artists; Gilrin Calithil and her brother belong to me._

 _Please Review!_

 ** _Originally Published - July 4th, '16_**

 _ **Update - September 24th, '16 -** I reread this the other day and, embarrassment of embarrassments, in one place I had "Capitol" instead of "Calithil". I fixed that and tweaked a few other things, so hopefully there are no more weird mistakes. Ta!_


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